For those of us who have grown up in the ‘West’, we tend to think of religion as a customizable category. Some of us are born into a particular sect, others with no particular orientation, and as we travel through life, we’re presented with a panoply of options from which to choose. Many of us … Continue reading Like a Skin
Fieldwork Reflections
In Academia, All You Need is Love
Questions about Exploitation and Invisible Work in Academia It is an open "secret" amongst academics that universities exploit the labour of their academic staff, and more importantly, that they exploit the unpaid labour of their academic staff. There are arguments for and against this – doesn’t every vocation evoke unpaid labour? Hasn’t academia always been … Continue reading In Academia, All You Need is Love
When ‘White Privilege’ Becomes Uncomfortably Familiar
Author: Anonymous One of the unintended consequences of my fieldwork in Mumbai was that I spent ten weeks in bed with typhoid.The other was that I met my husband. The latter event means that Mumbai is now my permanent home, rather than a site of cultural intrigue demanding my scholarly attention. The process of making … Continue reading When ‘White Privilege’ Becomes Uncomfortably Familiar
(Just) A Primate Person
Author: Rebecca Hendershott, PhD Candidate in Biological Anthropology at ANU. When people ask her what this means, Rebecca says she chases monkeys through the forest. I study primates – both because they are interesting in their own right, and because they offer insight into our own species. Each and every primate individual I’ve met has felt like … Continue reading (Just) A Primate Person
Just ‘Cause You Feel It, Doesn’t Mean…
I once went with my mum to have our Auras read. We were living in Malaysia and curious about traditional healing practices. Our individual Chakras revealed some energy blockages. Of course, the sincere beliefs of one person can tap into another’s vulnerability or tendency toward superstition; we walked out with an excessive amount of Tourmaline … Continue reading Just ‘Cause You Feel It, Doesn’t Mean…
Ethnographers vs ‘Tourists’
Anthropologists love to compare themselves to tourists. Nothing more confirms the merit of anthropology and its commitment to ‘in-depth’ fieldwork than the cultural missteps of globetrotters – especially wealthy Western ones – as they bumble through quagmires of etiquette and faux pas in the act of rubbing up against foreign cultures across the world. Anthropologists … Continue reading Ethnographers vs ‘Tourists’
Are You an Intellectual, or a Member of the Intelligentsia?
In some ways, it’s easier than ever before to be an expert in something - YouTube can teach you almost anything you want to know. At the same time though, it’s not the best time in history to purport to be an expert, either. And in a ‘post-fact era’, where politicians can make statements like … Continue reading Are You an Intellectual, or a Member of the Intelligentsia?
The Familiar Strange 